By SUSAN JONES
A hearing on a suit brought by Emeritus Trustee John Pelusi Jr. against the Pitt Board of Trustees and Chair John Verbanac was cancelled this week after the two sides reach some sort of agreement.
But what that agreement contains is unclear, since part of the order filed on Jan. 31 by the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court said: “The parties and their representatives shall not make any public statements regarding this ongoing litigation other than in their filings, presentations, or other submissions to this Court.”
Pelusi’s suit, filed in December, alleged he had been denied information relevant to his position, particularly concerning Pitt Athletics. The University responded by saying Pelusi’s transition to emeritus trustee status in June 2024 meant he no longer had the same rights to information as voting members of the Trustees.
The role of emeritus trustees is limited to attending board meetings as an observer at the discretion of the board chairperson, and to serving as a non-voting member on certain committees, subject to the discretion of the chairs of those committees.
Verbanac sent a letter to Pelusi on Nov. 4 that said Pelusi's privilege of attending meetings as an emeritus trustee was temporarily suspended because “he engaged in inappropriate and disruptive conduct that directly interfered with the ability of the voting members of the board to efficiently carry out their fiduciary duties and oversight responsibilities to the University.” He also lost access to the online portal connected to those meetings.
Pelusi’s suit sought an injunction allowing him to participate in board meetings and to access the financial and management-related information he requested.
The order by Judge Mary McGinley of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court said that Pelusi’s “privileges as an emeritus trustee on the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees are hereby restored on an interim basis pending the court’s final resolution of this litigation.”
But the order was unclear about if Pelusi would get the information he had sought. The order said: “Pelusi shall not have access to any executive session of the board, or any board materials, relating to this ongoing litigation and shall be subject to all confidentiality obligations applicable to emeritus trustees.”
The judge also scheduled a status conference on the suit for April 28.
Pelusi, who was a co-captain of Pitt's 1976 national championship football team and had served as a trustee for nearly 30 years, said in his suit that he had concerns about: Pitt’s Name, Image and Likeness policies; challenges associated with the House vs. NCAA settlement; and the firing of former Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke in September. Pelusi was on the search committee that brought Lyke to Pitt in 2017.
A final ruling on the House case is expected by April 7. If it is approved, it will allow colleges to pay student-athletes and will set up a competitive marketplace that will be very costly for teams, particularly football and men’s basketball, that want to attract the best players.
Pitt Athletic Director Allen Greene, who replaced Lyke in October, said on 93.7 FM on Feb. 1 that, “Right now, the best way that we can acquire talent — and the national landscape acquires talent — is through money. It used to be about scholarships and facilities and some of the shiny stuff. It went from glitz and glam to green.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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